After three days in Panama City, moving was a must. Sometimes I get caught up in the string of city life and forget that not all traveling consists of smelly streets and confusing metro systems.
Thankfully, I was never alone in the city thanks to the many wonderful travelers I met. They helped me out, showed me around, and let me use their metro cards.
Panama City has the most ridiculous system of any city I've traveled in. In order to get on a bus, you have to have a metro card which costs $2. Then you pay to put money on it, and scan to get through the turnstile every time you want to get on a bus or in the bus station. Thankfully, the only time I wasn't with someone who had a card was getting on the bus to leave the city. The lady at the gate wouldn't let me through the 5 cent gate without buying a $2 card. Luckily a local saw my annoyed look and offered to scan me through. Despite the beauty, I'm so glad to be out of that place...away from the intense heat, and smell, and rats, and chaos, and rain....
When they say rainy season, they aren't kidding. Four hours almost every day, and it's not just sprinkling. That rain is intense... Good time for blogging and drinking chai lattes.
Anyway, besides the metro card dilemma, leaving the city was relatively easy. Got a bus, asked for directions at the station (I'm a pro at asking for directions now. Funny how a little determination and confidence changes everything. I've decided to be fluent by the time I come home, therefore taking every opportunity to talk to every Spanish speaker I see.) and got on a little bus with wonderful air conditioning and the most intense bass of any bus I've ever experienced. Welcome back to Central America, where the busses play Reggaeton at any time of day not caring if you're a baby or 100 years old.
Oh. And I forgot. We did make it to the Panama Canal. We took the busses, paid $15 to get in, and learned all about its history. Pretty interesting, and I learned a lot of Spanish words thanks to the English/Spanish presentations, but there is way too much history to share here...
Now back to the delicious present...(I admit it. Traveling has made me a coffee fan. Nothing like cafes and blogging.)
I arrived in El Valle to a beautiful, cool, small town surrounded by mountains. Actually, this town is nestled right in the heart of a dormant volcano. Literally. I'm in a crater right now.
I was so excited to be back in a small town. Everyone says hi. They talk to you. There is a bakery and tiny shops. And horses. And so few tourists. I feel so at home here.
I checked into a cozy little hostel right on main street, bodhi.
The dorms were pretty impressive; the only place I've seen three bunks high.
As soon as I checked in I met a girl from Germany, so, after waiting out a long rainstorm...
...we spent the afternoon together checking out some hot springs. My goal for this trip is to say yes. Yes to things people ask me to do, to go places, for adventures. Obviously within reason, but I'm refusing to live in fear here. So, when Lena asked me to cover myself in magical mud before soaking in the springs, I said yes.
Cover your skin, let it dry, wash it off in the mineral water, and you're good to go. Such a strange, wonderful feeling.
Today, after an incredible meal of fresh bananas, papaya, eggs, and a pancake...
(Have I mentioned how much I missed the food??)
I set out myself to climb up the sleeping Indian.
Not the greatest photo, but the face of la india dormida is on the right.
So far, I have had no problem meeting people, but today I felt the need for some alone time, so I set off through town, saying hi to everyone except the crazy men who whistled at me, and with my little map in hand, I climbed through the crazy panama jungle...
It was strange, comforting, to be alone in the middle of nowhere. Where no one knows where I am, no time limit, just me and God and the critters. I saw a toucan. He was pretty angry that I was crossing his territory and unfortunately didn't get a photo, but I did meet another little guy...
This precious soul was stuck in sticky grass. I didn't know there was such a thing, and I thought it was a spider web, but nope. Just some sticky grass binding his feathers together. I pulled it off and he happily darted into the trees.
Within an hour or so, I made it to the top of the mountain, and just sat in awe of existence. I'm on top of a mountain. Looking down into the crater of a dormant volcano. In clouds.
It was so cool. So peaceful. So beautiful. And every time I do something like this it reminds me why I do this. Life is too short not to live it. And it never looses its thrill. Climbing mountains, being on top of the world...muscles shaking and aching from the intense uphill climb. It never gets old.
When I made it to the top, there was a rock face that I quickly climbed up, and suddenly realized it was a huge drop off. A little nerve wracking those first few seconds, but after I realized I wasn't falling, I sat on the edge, trying to "just be"...to erase life...to live here and now...such a beautiful way to be.
As I sat there, the clouds rolled in, then rolled away, again and again slowly revealing and hiding the town far below.
The path wound steeply down a grassy field, and after a few minutes, disappeared into a thick grove of trees. I hesitated a moment, not really sure how smart I was being, but my never failing gut feeling told me it was fine, so I continued, ending up in someone's backyard. Oops.
I sat a moment, trying to figure out if I was on the map. I wasn't, so I took what looked like a trail, went through some more yards, awkwardly said hi to some people, and finally ended up on something of a road.
As always, my intelligent gut feeling led me on the right direction, and I once again made it safety to the hostel.
So, that's that. Nothing new under the sun. Tomorrow, I am going to try my luck and take a bus to the PanAmerican highway where I'll wait for a bus, and hopefully be picked up to head north. This is such a small town they basically only have buses to the city, but we all need a little adventure right? :)
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